HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL: Dakota looks to chop down Seaholm Maples

What happened in last year’s Class A state quarterfinals is still vivid in the minds of Dakota volleyball coach Tracie Ferguson and her returning players.

“Absolutely, ever since it happened,” Dakota coach Tracie Ferguson said when asked if the loss in five games to Lake Orion in a Class A state quarterfinal last season has been in her thoughts. “Not in a bad way either. We just don’t want it to end on the same note this year, that’s the goal.”

After winning the first two games, 28-26, 25-17, Dakota dropped game three, 25-14 to the Dragons.

The Cougars had a 21-20 lead in the game four and looked as if they would close things out, but made some uncharacteristic errors and handed over the match to Lake Orion, 25-22.

Then in game five, Dakota clawed back from a 13-8 deficit to tie things, but the Dragons got the next two points to advance to the state semifinals.

“I can’t pinpoint one specific thing, they were just a better team than us that night,” Ferguson said. “We were on a run. We were doing things that weren’t expected and winning games we weren’t expected. Honestly on paper Lake Orion was the better team, but we had the heart, the desire, the determination and the leadership and that’s what kind of what took us as far as we went. But unfortunately experience took us out.”

This year the Cougars, who are 56-5-0 overall and returned eight players from last season, are sneaking up on no one in the state tournament.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” senior Megan Downey said. “It was rough. That week was a long week, but once it was over all we thought about was getting back into the gym and getting at it again. It’s great to be back here.”

They ended the season ranked third in the state and are the top-ranked team left in the tournament after Gull Lake (No. 1) and Clarkston (No. 2) both were eliminated.

“I don’t know if it’s pressure; it is more like the nervous excitement that we have,” said Ferguson, whose squad scored an impressive 25-17, 25-10, 25-14 win over Grosse Pointe South to claim a regional title last week. “We believe we can do it. We’ve beaten some really good teams this year and I believe we’ve had the practice, 61 matches is a lot of practice leading into a match, but at the same time it’s a playoff game.”

Dakota faces Birmingham Seaholm, which has been on quite the roll in the state tournament, knocking off state power Marian at districts and then Clarkston in a regional final last week, in the state quarterfinals Tuesday at Oxford High School.

The Maples, who are just 24-27-0 on the season, used strong defense to get past the Wolves, 25-18, 25-16, 25-17.

“There’s nobody that is going to stop these girls,” Seaholm coach Heather Lippert said after the match. “They’ve been coming out with confidence. They don’t want this run to end.”

Dakota beat Seaholm at the start of the season, but Ferguson knows this is a much different Maples squad her Cougars will be facing.

“They’re very scrappy,” said Ferguson, who guided Dakota to its first district, regional and MAC Red titles last season. “Their defense definitely keeps them in games and I think they serve smart. They keep the ball alive and let the other teams make the errors.”

Dakota will also have to deal with a Seaholm fan base that has the ability to change matches.

“That (Seaholm student section) was the seventh man,” Troy coach Vince Muscat said after the Maples defeated Troy in a regional semifinal. “I’ve never seen a crowd affect a game like that and they didn’t do anything wrong. That was the beauty of it. (Teams) better prepare for that because that’s an impressive student section.”

The Cougars are used to dealing with loud fan bases.

“They just seem to push us 10 times harder,” said senior Leah Hoffman said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“They’re on a really big roll right now and I know they have a really great fan base that really pumps them up,” Downey said. “But I think if we stay focused and play as a team we’ll be OK.”

It’s Dakota’s mental toughness that Downey feels will help them in Thursday’s match with Seaholm.

“Our skills have always been there, but we’re more mentally tough,” said Downey, who had 11 kills in the win over GPS. “We’re ready for this.”

The Cougars are looking to reach the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

“This team has a certain drive,” Ferguson said. “They’ve got a real competitive spirit. At practice, it’s like playing a regular match when they go six-on-six. They don’t take anything lightly. It’s nice to see that in practice because that tends to translate how well we do on the court come game time.”